My Body My Choice

A typical progressive position about masks that I run into when expressing my view that in a free society, each individual gets to decide according to their individual risk and health profiles whether to wear a mask or not:

Totally down with personal freedoms if a choice to wear or not wear a mask only affected the mask (non) wearer. But someone else not wearing a mask *does* impinge on my own personal freedom. They can give me a motherfucking virus that we don’t yet have a widely available vaccine for.

Online progressive

My response:

First, the likelihood that bodily fluid from a known carrier lands on you and infects you without YOU being somewhere and having done something (like touched your mask) is almost impossible. By leaving your house, you have always consented to the possibility of infection… or how did flus spread before?

What changed this season? Politicians and the media overreacted, then colluded to scare you out of your mind for a somewhat novel flu with a 99.6% survival rate.

My not wearing a mask does nothing to impinge your freedom. Wearing a mask may create a placebo affect, sure. It may affect how scared/”safe” you FEEL, but you don’t have a right to freedom from fear. Think of it this way, driving a car can be deadly but we don’t call every driver every day a potential murderer. And if you believe that non-maskers are infringing on your right, what “right” is that?

Look, we live in entirely different places, too, and masks certainly aren’t warranted in NH. If there were dead people in the streets, I’d reevaluate what I need to do for me to stay/feel healthy, but given the reality vs. the “pandemic story arc,” as a healthy, free human, I’m making the best choice for me, and you should do the same for you.

My body, my choice, right? Or, are you actually arguing, my body YOUR choice, ‘cos that’s a bitterly steep and dark path. And THAT’S why I am speaking up.

Since the New Hampshire Union Leader is incapable of discerning the difference between being “anti-mask” and anti-MANDATE and pro-freedom, and said this in its editorial today, “But the good news with these anti-maskers is the positive effect they will have on the vaccine supply when it arrives in New Hampshire. Surely none of these flat-earthers will be signing up for a shot,” I will no longer do this “newspaper” the courtesy of linking to its articles. I will copy and paste and post them wholesale on my media channels as I see fit. I encourage others to stop linking to Union Leader articles and also just cut, paste, post, and share.

Here is a very good Letter to the Editor from an intelligent writer who actually understands the issue, being: IF WE LIVE IN A FREE SOCIETY, YOU DO NOT OWN ME AND CANNOT MANDATE DECISIONS AGAINST MY WILL OVER MY BODY (aka “my body, my choice”):

“Emergency shouldn’t trump our freedoms

To the Editor: I am writing on behalf of the many constituents who disagree with Governor Chris Sununu’s new mask mandate. We are not inconsiderate murderers who want people to die. We are reasonable citizens, who want to live in a voluntary state where we are free to make medical decisions for ourselves. We should not be forced to give up that right because an emergency is declared.

I’m not debating the efficacy of such mandates or the severity of coronavirus. I’m also aware of CDC and Health Department guidelines, but do not believe their recommendations should be turned into mandates. These entities were not elected to govern us, no matter how many credentials they may have or how grave a crisis may be.

The precedent for restricting freedom has been set and I fear this will go beyond forcing masks on our faces. I’m urging the governor to return to our voluntary system, where heath status remains private, medical decisions are personal, and we maintain our inherent bodily sovereignty.

Let us wear masks as we individually see fit. Let us be responsible for taking care of ourselves and protecting the vulnerable, like we’ve done in pandemics past. This is fair for everyone and will prevent one group of people from forcing their will upon another. This trend will only get worse if mandates continue.

We don’t look to leaders to save us from viruses, but we expect them to defend our civil liberties, even when it is not politically expedient to do so.

ALEXANDRA MENNELLA

Hooksett”